Monthly Archives: December 2011

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve written so I figured the best way to jump back in the saddle is to write about some of the things I love: beer, bikes, and coffee. What better place to talk about than Denver Bicycle Cafe!

It’s become my new obsession. Seriously.

The concept is beautiful in it’s simplicity. Beer. Bicycles. Coffee. They’re open from 6am – 8pm except for Thursday through Saturday which is 6am – 9pm. Which means, on your way to work you can stop in for coffee and get your flat tire fixed so you can bike the rest of the way. OR on your way back from work, you can grab a beer and have the bike mechanic do that much needed tune up. For a classy broad like me, such service is paramount.

The beer: it’s all Colorado, baby! Oh yeah!! They have 6 taps that rotate, which means you never quite know when a different beer is going on. The other option is cans. Yep, cans. Colorado cans. Avery, Boulder Beer, New Belgium, Oskar Blues, Steamworks, Ska, Upslope, and Wynkoop. They are all here. It makes my beer nipples perk up with excitement! If beer isn’t your fancy, they have wine too.

The coffee and tea: If you haven’t guessed, it’s Colorado again! Pablo’s coffee beans and Wystone’s Tea. If you don’t know Pablo’s, then you are definitely missing out. Wystone’s is a new company to Denver but their teas smell so amazing. I know a thing or two about herbs…and these peeps are the real deal. The Earl Grey and chamomile make my knees weak.

The bicycles: besides the fact that you can get a tune up, ladies, the bike mechanic is pretty cute. I’m just saying! Mike is the Yoda of bikes. Guys, you can totally geek out with him on bikes of all kinds. Mike has been screwing around with bikes ever since he was a kid. He’s been a certified mechanic for 5 years now but has many more years of professionally working on bicycles. His favorite bike company: Surly.

The food: tasty and local. The pie (honestly, in the right mood it could be considered foreplay, at least for me…) and the burritos are mad tasty. There’s usually an assortment of bagels and tamales along with big pretzels for those beer drinkers. If all you want are some chips and salsa, they can fill that need too! None of that sounds good? Then you can order food from Pasquini’s and they’ll deliver it to you in the cafe.

The atmosphere: exposed brick, wood, metal and good lighting. You can sit at the bar, on the couches, at your own table, or at the community table. The employees are super friendly and the music isn’t annoyingly loud. You can actually have a conversation without yelling or feeling bad that you’re disturbing the people staring at their laptops. Right now, there’s seems to be alot of locals coming in but I have a feeling once the summer rolls around, this place is going to be packed with bicyclists of all sorts especially on the outdoor patio. It’s only a block away from the bike lane on 16th Avenue so it makes for a great pit stop.

Whether you’re hopping off the #20 east bound bus, riding your bicycle, walking by, or even driving, you need to check this place out.

Note: I am an un-trained professional and you definitely should not try this at home.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I get dressed up and get crazy at whatever party/club that lets me and my cohorts in. This year was a special year. I dressed very steampunk/Moulin Rouge with a silver mask. AND I had a VIP ticket for the Artists Bacchanal at the Redline Gallery the Friday before Halloween.

Now, at that moment in time, I was texting back and forth with Schuyler. I met him the week before after going to the symphony. He seemed interested in me but hadn’t put out an offer for a date after a week. He seemed nice enough and he is my type of addiction: blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin. I decided I was only going to let so many more days of texting happen before giving up the idea of a date.

So…Friday night comes along. I get all tarted up. Phillip, the best partner in crime, joins me for a first drink of the night (6:30pm). We head down to Beatrice and Woodsley to get our drink on with a Manhattan for him and a Hendrix and tonic for me. He voices he wished he had a ticket to the Artists Bacchanal. Being the evil kid that I am, I text my friend who offered the VIP ticket to me with the “hint hint nudge nudge” if there’s an extra ticket I know someone who wants it. Within 5 minutes, SCORE!! We guzzle our drinks and head to his house so he can put a tux on and grab his mask.

We arrive at the Artists Bacchanal and start off with a Moscow mule. Which quickly turns into 2. After a bit of elbow rubbing and a Ballet Nouveau Colorado performance, I decide to start drinking some honey wine from Dithyramb Winery. Yeah…gin, vodka, and now honey wine. Can you see where this is going? The elbow rubbing continues along with consumption of some food…oh wait…I didn’t eat dinner. I’ll tell you now, hors d’oeuvres do not make a good dinner for a night of drinking. Glass #2 of honey wine…glass #3…I think there was a glass #4 but I know I didn’t finish it if I actually had it. This is because the party changed venues.

Not the Bacchanal’s location, just my personal party. The crew of us at the Bacchanal went our separate ways and I ended up catching a ride to Stoney’s since it’s close to Bar Standard (which was to be my last location of the evening to catch Phillip and a ride to his couch). This is where things get a bit blurry.

Upon arrival at Stoney’s, my friend and I promptly order water. It felt like 5 minutes later but we order a round of beer (yup, add one more to the mix) and she goes outside to smoke. I stay inside where it’s warm and being left to my own devices start to drunk text. Schuyler answers me and the next thing I know he’s at the bar ordering a drink. From looking at my texts the morning after, he was playing poker and decided to meet me. After the initial beer, he asks what I want to do. The Forbidden Plant Party at Bar Standard of course!

If you don’t know what the Forbbiden Plant Party is, it’s a Burner Halloween party that is off the hook fun. Crazy decorations, amazing DJs, and wicked fun people. It’s hard to not have a good time.

I don’t remember walking there but I do remember being inside the party. I was playing with someone’s laser gun…gin and tonic…multiple friends come up to say hi…another gin and tonic…the music was really good…there goes Phillip with Chelese…another gin and tonic…was that a jellyfish that just walked by that knew my name?…

LIGHTS! It’s 2am and all the revelers are being kicked out of the club. Somehow Phillip finds Schuyler and I and we make our way towards the door and coat check. As we all spill out of the club, I remember saying something, gods only know what to Schuyler, give him a kiss on the check and I think even a *pat pat* (that’s a bad sign from me…it’s the “oh dear, you’re so cute but you have no clue”) and then proceed to wander down the street with Phillip to catch a cab. How we arrived back at his place is a mystery to me.

The next morning: Phillip rehashes my behavior and all the interesting things I said in the cab and in his car on the way to his place. Note: alcohol really IS truth serum along with “get naked” juice. From what I gather, I was blackout drunk when we arrived at Phillip’s yet speaking without a slur and confessing to to bunch of things. Then I proceeded to strip down to my under-roos (not unusual for me especially after a few drinks but I do vaguely remember taking my corset off in the living room) and crawl around on the floor (definitely unusual) until he persuades me to go to sleep. Phillip gets perfect gentleman of the year.

It’s been about a month and a half since I’ve heard from Schuyler. I had written him off as one of the many men I’ve scared and/or scarred. He texted me the other day with “Sexy woman”. Um yeah…no. He doesn’t know it yet but he’s about to get the “WTF…are you for real?” response. Seriously, I’m a classy broad with standards. That behavior just won’t do.